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We sometimes hear that writing is no longer necessary in an age of easy vocal communication. Phones, faxes and tape recorders have taken over many of the functions of letters and memos. One can succeed in mny professions without being able to write very well. But there is another side to this thought. The very advances in communication technology which support the claim that writing is no longer important have, in fact, increased the power of written language.

Writing contributes uniquely in the way we learn. When we take notes during lectures or as we read, writing enables us to sort out the information and to highlight what is important.

Taking notes helps us remember what we’re learning and yields a written record that we can review later essays or tests. Summarizing new information provides an overview of the subject and also fosters a close analysis of it. Annotating as we read by underlining and making comments in the margin involves us in conversation-debate with the author.

Writing can be of various types:

I. Documenting

II. Report Writing

III. Making notes

IV. Letter writing

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I. Documenting

Documentation is a set of documents provided on paper, or online, or on digital or analogue media, such as audio tape or CDs. Examples are user guides, white papers, on-line help, and quick-reference guides. It is becoming less common to see paper (hard-copy) documentation. Documentation is distributed via websites, software products, and other on-line applications.

The procedures of documentation vary from one sector, or one type, to another. In general, these may involve document drafting, formatting, submitting, reviewing, approving, distributing, reposting and tracking, etc., and are convened by associated SOPs in a regulatory industry. It could also involve creating content from scratch. Documentation should be easy to read and understand. If it's too long and too wordy, it may be misunderstood or ignored. Clear, Short, Familiar words should be used to a maximum of 15 words to a sentence. Only gender hyper neutral word should be used and cultural biases should be avoided. Procedures should be numbered when they are to be performed.

II. Report Writing

A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience. Specific information and evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a particular problem or issue. The information is presented in a clearly structured format making use of sections and headings so that the information is easy to locate and follow.

Formal Report writing has an internationally accepted pattern that includes various components that are mentioned below.

• Cover – The cover of a report is something that drives a reader’s attention first. The report’s cover leaves a huge impression on the reader’s mind and he/she can get an idea regarding the report’s topic or quality through the cover design.

• There is a saying – ‘’don’t judge a book by its cover’’ but it is also true – what seems well, sells well and hence the report writer must take care of the cover of the report with has a major role to depict the report

• Title Of The Report – This component includes the report’s title and the name of the Apart from these things, the title can also have a date and the name of the organization for which the report has been prepared. The cover also has these things but putting them in details in the title section is mandatory.

• Table Of Contents – This section includes headings and subheadings of the primary text written. This is a very important portion of report writing. It helps your readers to reach desired sections in your report in a hassle-free

• Summary – Here you basically provide the synopsis of the whole report’s primary text and you can also call it an informative
• Many times, it is referred as ‘executive summary’. You can also use descriptive summary which is a simple table of contents. The format is always decided by the

• Introduction – This is the most important section of the main text. The main text always includes three components – introduction, discussion, and
• Here, you introduce the main text of your report in the most intriguing a detailed manner so that all types of readers can get your point without much

• Discussion – In the discussion section, a report writer discusses the main story of the According to your reader’s convenience, you decide the order of the report’s results.
• You can also do a result to theory comparison here along with the analysis, evaluation and interpretation of the data

• Conclusion/Recommendation – You can present the summary of the discussion section here. Here, you mention your findings and recommend the elements to your readers as per your overall

• Appendix – In the appendix portion, you can attach the graphs, lists, survey and suchlike stuff that are related to your report and helps your readers to understand the report

• Reference/Bibliography – You can cite your report’s references in this

III. Making Notes

Making notes is essential. The act of writing or recording notes helps motor, visual and auditory recall. This makes the subject easier to remember. You can learn more about note- taking in the following section.

Everybody makes notes in their own ways. They are for your purposes so the most important aspect is that they suit your purposes. Your notes may be neat or messy, ordered lists or sprawling webs. This does not matter as long as you can make use of them.

Methods of taking notes

• Headings and bullet points

This is a very common way of making notes. It is especially useful if you are making notes on a computer as you can reorganise information under new headings. The heading is the key point or a question. The bullets or list of points under it all refer to that one heading.

• Double notes

These are notes where you use either two colour or two columns or two sheets of paper in order to make two connected sets of notes. The first set is a summary of what you are reading or hearing. The second set is your commentary upon the first set. This is useful for separating out other people's ideas and words from your own.

• Pattern notes

These are notes that are organised around a central concept and work their way out from that idea. Each line from the centre leads you into more depth on a particular theme. Use colour and shape to make the notes distinctive. Look for a particular image formed by the final shape of the notes - or aim to develop a particular image. This will make the notes more memorable.

• Annotations

If you own the text, you can highlight key points and write additional information and comments in the margins or underneath. This can save time making longer notes, but is less effective for processing the information and ensuring that you understand it than other forms of notes.

• Summaries

It is useful to summarise your notes on any one topic or questions down to a few key points, quotes and examples. This familiarises you with the material. It also makes it easier to carry the information around to refer to on work placement or to revise for exams.

IV. Letter Writing

A letter is such a written message that we sent to persons who are far away from us and we want to convey our message to them in a clear and forceful manner. We usually write letters to our friends and relatives. Although the advent of IT- Telephones, Mobile SMS’s and Chat- has reduced the importance of personal letter writing as we can send our messages through these mediums very easily but this art is still required where there is need of formal communication. Sometimes we have to send an application to the school for grant of leave and at other time we have to complain about someone. The same way we get a lot of chances where

we have to send a formal letter. Thus this art of letter writing is no more an ornamental accomplishment but something that every educated person must acquire for practical purposes.

Main six Points that has to be taken care of while writing a letter are:-

1. Heading
2. The Salutation or Courteous Greetings
3. The Body of the letter -Communication or the Message-.
4. The Subscription -Courteous Leave-taking, or Conclusion-.
5. The Signature -Name of the writer-
6. The Address

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Reference: Collected from various internet sources and edited by me.

Recommended Readings:

Fluency in English-Part II, Oxford University Press, 2006. Business English, Pearson, 2008.

Language, Literature and Creativity, Orient Black swan, 2013.

Language through Literature(forthcoming) ed. Dr. Gaur Mishap, Dr Ramjan Kabul, Dr. Brat Biswas

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